Chapter Two: A Warrior of Gold.
Superman Lied on the cold concrete floor, his body a shivering brick on the floor. His cloak glistened as a light bulb, in the sunlight which was emerging through the open warehouse doors. The sun was over the city of Metropolis conveying a new leash of life, people were rushing out to work like ants in a colony, the fresh air was swinging along and the birds were chirping away. It was impossible to identify the storm of the last night, no evidence remained. None expect Superman.
Superman awoke from his unrequested slumber; he never knew the feeling of a hangover, but he suspected it to similar to what he was feeling. His head a rollercoaster on a never ending ride, his body a punch bag after training and his mind was a broken record. Superman got his feet together and propelled his body up like a baby. While, his mind tried to recall the events that brought him here. A headache replied to him, as he recalled his last few hours. A painful headache. Superman gripped his head and concentrated immensely. This time he managed to gain fragments of his last few hours, broken and disoriented. But, fragments of memory were not the only thing to arrive. A voice from the depths of his mind emerged, the voice controlling Superman as a puppet.
"Destroy the Justice League" whispered the voice, slowly and authoritatively.
Superman immediately felt debilitated and incompetent for the first time in his life. He could not comprehend or understand what the Justice league was, he couldn't remember anything expect his powers and his identity as Clark Kent. Then, the voice emerged once again with the same message. Destroy the Justice League. Destroy the Justice League. Destroy the Justice League. The voice was emitting louder and with higher authority. It was like a loudspeaker within Superman's head. Suddenly, he fell to the floor with his hands tightly gripping his head and holding it together. Annihilate them. And save the world. Destroy the Justice League. Unable to stop the voice and banish it from his mind, he succumbs to its will. The voice overwhelmed him and captured his body with unyielding force. Now, Superman was under the complete influence of Doctor Strange. He was the ultimate weapon of destruction. A warrior of gold.
"The Justice League needs to get Justice!" said Superman mechanically.
Superman zipped past the open warehouse doors, breaking the sound barrier as a bullet. He was a NASA rocket heading for space. His calculating eyes targeting the Justice League Tower like a obedient cyborg.
…...
Orbiting the Earth the Justice League orbital tower stood. It was the watchful protector. It was the Justice keeper. Within the massive orbital giant, a community of heroes stood by each other, from Kid flash to the Wonder Women was present. But, an obvious presence was missing. Superman was not present. Batman, Wonder Women, Red Tornado, Green Lantern, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow and Aquaman stood anxiously in a large briefing room with a long wooden table.
"Al right, I am going to address the elephant in the room, Where is Superman?"mocked Flash.
"I haven't seen him till yesterday night after our mission together" said Green Lantern, concerned.
"He did not respond to his radio call today morning, very unusual for Superman "growled Batman.
"I know him and he would never forget his duties, he is the all American hero" added Wonder Women.
"His actions are very peculiar for him indeed." said Red Tornado.
"Right, we have established he is not here, any one hazard a guess to where he is" said Green Arrow.
"Nope, I mean I can't even fly and I am here. Old Super just has to flex his legs and he is here. I mean who has the most commitment now to the League" said Flash.
"I have not seen the young man in the seas at all" aforesaid Aquaman.
"Neither have I seen him in the city" added Martian Manhunter.
"I have the most advanced Satellites scanning the Earth, but I cannot get a lock on him. He has been missing for the past few hours" said Batman.
"Maybe he is in trouble" suggested Wonder Women.
"His strength and impenetrable skin and interminable power should keep him safe from any problems. There isn't a person on this planet that could match him" said Batman.
"Is it possible that Superman is in confrontation with someone out of this planet? An extraterrestrial being perhaps" suggested Aquaman
"Is there more extraterrestrial beings" questioned Green Arrow.
"Of course, in this sector alone, there are numerous other extraterrestrial species "answered Green Lantern.
"But, nothing could have entered our atmosphere without me knowing" said Batman.
"There are many far superior technologies. Technology that could dwarf us" replied Red Tornado."No offence Batman, but we do not know about the enemy we are battling. There could have far superior technology."
"Hey, has everybody lost their marbles. I mean putting on Superhero costumes and you lose sense of reality. Maybe he is just taking a day off. You know showing his pecks off to girls and relaxing. I could go around the world and look for him, it would only take a few minutes" suggested Flash.
"Superman does not take a day off" said Wonder Women.
"Right, he is the serious type. Do any of you take a day-"
"Something with the same substantial speed of Superman is approaching" said Batman, looking at a small PDF like screen with buttons scampered around it.
"So, what if it's Superman" said Green Lantern.
"It's better late than never. But I am never late" added Flash.
"It's not like Superman to keep a substantial raising speed when approaching the Tower" said Martian Manhunter.
"It can be very dangerous and unpredictable" added Red Tornado.
"I said it was something with the same speed as Superman, not necessary him" said Batman.
"Well, what else could it be" asked Green Arrow.
"Brace yourselves, its incoming" commanded Batman.
"I miss the soft ground that I can run on" gulped Flash, and moving his hand towards the sturdy table and bracing himself.
Moments later, the whole Tower shock like a wave, and an implosion of biblical proportions ensued in the Tower. Superman has hit his target. The tower was cowered in bright orange raging flames, lighting up space like a Christmas tree. The force of Superman's entry still echoed through the Tower, rumbling the floor of the briefing room. Within in the room, Batman stood posture and stiff body. Beside Batman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Wonder Women, Aquaman, Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter stood with similar postures and expressions filled with anxious. Whereas, Flash was on the ground with an annoyed visage.
"How is it only I that fell, when I was the only one who braced "asked Flash, melodramatically.
"What was that?" questioned Green Arrow, gathering himself together.
"I need to identify the extent of the damage" said Batman, concerned. His hands were snapping away at the unique computer-like PDF.
"With a shock wave of that size. I think it is safe to assume that we need to evacuate the Tower immediately." concluded Martian Manhunter.
"Right, everybody lets leave to the teleporter" said Flash.
"A major problem to that plan Flash, the teleporter room does not exist, now!" said Batman, staring at his gadget.
"What...but this place is packed with almost every Superhero of Earth" said Green Arrow, increasingly agitated.
"Half of them can't even fly. How are we meant to get out, now!" added Green Lantern.
"I think we are overreacting now, Superman isn't a threat, he probably overshot his entrance." said Wonder Women.
"Yeh, he overshot it by a mile and for the record I am low balling" said Flash.
"Flash stop it!" said Batman, expressing his authority.
"We need to evacuate the Tower, Batman" suggested Green Lantern.
"Shall I initiate protocol 10" asked Martian Manhunter.
"What's that?" said Flash, bewildered.
"It's the protocol for evacuation of the Tower" answered Red Tornado.
"How are we going to do that, I missed the part about protocols" said Flash.
"Yeh, so did I" agreed Green Arrow.
"Especially with the teleporter gone, like you said, it's probably impossible" added Aquaman.
"Ah... but the evacuation plan does not depend on the teleporter. We plan to use a separate ship to escape." said Red Tornado.
"How many people can the ship hold" questioned Green Lantern.
"Everyone in the Tower." answered Martian Manhunter.
"Now, that is a plan, so let's execute it" said Wonder Women enthusiastically.
"There is one crucial problem. Who is going to take care of Superman." said Batman, halting the premature enthusiasm and victory of everyone.
